Johannes Wtenbogaert (Also Jan or Hans, Uytenbogaert or Uitenbogaert.) (11 February 1557 – 4 September 1644) was a Dutch Protestant minister, a leader of the

Remonstrant The Remonstrants (or the Remonstrant Brotherhood) is a Protestant movement that split from the Dutch Reformed Church in the early 17th century. The early Remonstrants supported Jacobus Arminius, and after his death, continued to maintain his ori ...

Portret van Johannes Wtenbogaert Rijksmuseum SK-A-4885

Life

Born at Utrecht, he was brought up a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, and attended the school of St. Jerome there. He intended a legal career, but gave it up from 1578 with Catholicism when required to cease hearing the sermons of the evangelical Huibert Duifhuis (1531–1581). He went to

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

and the service of Count

John of Nassau Count John VI of Nassau-Dillenburg (22 November 1536 – 8 October 1606) was the second son of William the Rich and the younger brother of William the Silent. He has a special place in the history of the Netherlands because he is the male-l ...

, and then returned to Utrecht to become a pastor. He found conflict between Duifhuis and a group of

Calvinists Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...

called Consistorials. In 1580 Wtenbogaert was sent at the city's expense to study theology in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

and came into contact with

Theodore Beza Theodore Beza (; or ''de Besze''; 24 June 1519 – 13 October 1605) was a French Calvinist Protestant theologian, reformer and scholar who played an important role in the Protestant Reformation. He was a disciple of John Calvin and lived most ...

; but his sympathies were with

Jacobus Arminius Jacobus Arminius (; Dutch language, Dutch: ''Jakob Hermanszoon'' ; 10 October 1560 – 19 October 1609) was a Dutch Reformed Christianity, Reformed minister and Christian theology, theologian during the Protestant Reformation period whose views ...

. On his return to Utrecht in 1584 he found himself in an awkward position in the continuing discord. Eventually in 1590 the magistrates removed the preachers from both sides. He then went to

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, invited by

Maurice of Nassau Maurice of Orange (; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death on 23 April 1625. Before he became Prince of Orange upo ...

, and the Walloon congregation there, in 1591. He was in favour, and also attracted the attention of

Johan van Oldenbarnevelt Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (; 14 September 1547 – 13 May 1619), Lord of the manor, Heer van Berkel en Rodenrijs (1600), Gunterstein (1611) and Bakkum (1613), was a Dutch statesman and revolutionary who played an important role in the Dutch rev ...

. Influential, he became the leader of the

Arminian Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the Christian theology, theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed Church, Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remo ...

party of Remonstrants, after the death of Arminius in 1609; in fact the name was taken from the Remonstrance of 14 January 1610 to the

States of Holland The States of Holland and West Frisia () were the representation of the two Estates (''standen'') to the court of the Count of Holland. After the United Provinces were formed — and there no longer was a count, but only his "lieutenant" (the stad ...

, masterminded by Wtenbogaert and Oldenbarnevelt. At the same time Wtenbogaert published his ''Tractaet'', causing a controversy and, despite the conferences of 1611 and 1613, an effective schism with the Calvinist or

Gomarist Franciscus Gomarus (François Gomaer; 30 January 1563 – 11 January 1641) was a Dutch theologian, a strict Calvinist and an opponent of the teaching of Jacobus Arminius (and his followers), whose theological disputes were addressed at the Synod ...

Counter-Remonstrant party. Prince Maurice removed support from Wtenbogaert, and in 1617 the States decided for a synod, against the wish of the Remonstrants. Wtenbogaert lost heart in March 1618, and asked to be relieved of his charge; and when on 29 August 1618, Oldenbarnevelt,

Hugo Grotius Hugo Grotius ( ; 10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), also known as Hugo de Groot () or Huig de Groot (), was a Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawyer, theologian, jurist, statesman, poet and playwright. A teenage prodigy, he was born in Delft an ...

, and

Rombout Hogerbeets Rombout Hogerbeets (Hoorn, 24 June 1561 — Wassenaar, 7 September 1625) was a Dutch jurist and statesman. He was tried for treason, together with Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Hugo Grotius, and Gilles van Ledenberg during the political crisis of ...

were

arrested An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be Interroga ...

, Wtenbogaert fled to

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

and then to

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. On 24 May 1619 he was banned from the Dutch Republic and his goods confiscated, the reason given being that he had introduced new views, contrary to the accepted

Reformed theology Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

. In October he sent a document to Prince Maurice in his defense, and continued to direct the affairs of the Remonstrants. In October 1621, he moved to

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

. When Maurice died in 1625, and was succeeded as

stadtholder In the Low Countries, a stadtholder ( ) was a steward, first appointed as a medieval official and ultimately functioning as a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and ...

by Wtenbogaert's pupil

Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange Frederick Henry (; 29 January 1584 – 14 March 1647) was the sovereign prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from his older half-brother's death on 23 April 1625 until his ...

, Wtenbogaert returned in September 1626. But Frederick Henry would not openly support the Remonstrants, though he granted protection to his old teacher. Wtenbogaert began to preach quietly at The Hague, and regained possession of his house. For the rest of his life he worked for his cause by his writings and by personal efforts. In particular he wrote an autobiography and a work of church history. He died at The Hague in 1644.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wtenbogaert, Johannes 1557 births 1644 deaths Remonstrants Arminian ministers Arminian theologians